Apparatus for hardening and drawing ferrous metallic articles



April 18, 1950 F. o. HEss ET AL 2,504,685

APPARATUS FOR HARDENING AND DRAW-[NG FERRoUs METALLIC ARTICLES 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 8, 1947 April 18, 1950 F. o'. HEss ETAL2,504,685

APPARATUS FOR HARDENING AND DRAWING FERRoUs METALLIC ARTICLES Filed Feb.8, 1947 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 18, 1950 F. o. Hl-:ss ET AL 2,504,585APPARATUS FOR HARDENING AND DRAWING FERRoUs METALLIC ARTICLES Filed Feb.e, 1947 s sheets-sheet s I l A9 v n m UMA Illllll V5 ,errawfy 4PatentedApr. 18, 1`95) APPARATUS FOR HARDENING AND DRAW- ING FERROUS METALLICARTICLES Frederic 0. Hess, Fred Maud, and William B. Troupe,Philadelphia, Pa., assignors to Selas Corporation of America,Philadelphia County, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania ApplicationFebruary 8, 1947, Serial No. 727,410

(Cl. 26S-4) 1 Claim.

The general object of the present invention is to provide an improvedapparatus for heat treatment. More particularly, the object of thepresent invention is to provide an apparatus for hardening and temperingsteel-like bodies by heating, quenching and reheating them in a seriesof intermittent operations performed in a predetermined sequence andduring predetermined time intervals.

A more specic object of the invention is to provide apparatus includinga rotatable work support comprising one or more rotatable worksupporting dials or wheel-like members, each having a plurality of workholding seats at or adjacent and distributed along its periphery forholding a plurality of bodies distributed about its axis of rotation tobe successively subjected to heat treating operations. The apparatusalso includes means for intermittently turning said work support aboutits axis through successive small angular steps.

In a preferred form of the invention, the work support comprises twodials or rotating members of the character mentioned. One of said dialsmay be called the hardening dial as it is associated with heating andquenching apparatus so disposed and arranged that the ends of each workpiece will be progressively heated up to a temperature in excess of itscritical temperature and then cooled and hardened as the wheel turns theseat carrying the work piece from a loading station to an unloadingstation which may be coincident with or slightly to the rear of theloading station. The second dial may -be called a drawing or temperingdial and may be similar in construction and in the general mode of itsuse to the rst mentioned dial, but is associated with work re-heatingand cooling means appropriate to the lower temperatures and less abruptchanges in temperatures which are suitable for use in drawing ortempering work pieces previously hardened while supported in the firstmentioned dial.

Our improved method is lcharacterized by the regulation of the rates atwhich heat is supplied to and removed from work pieces during successiveequal periods of time, so as to subject each work piece to theappropriate temperature cycles required for efficient and uniformhardening, and drawing or tempering of the articles treated.

The various features of novelty which characterize our invention arepointed out with particularity in the claim annexed to and forming apart of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention,however, its advantages, and specific objects attained with its use,reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptivematter in which we have illustrated and described preferred embodimentsof the invention.

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of one form of heat treating apparatus with partsbroken away and in section;

Fig. 2 is an elevation taken to right angles to Fig. 1, and partly insection on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and with parts broken away;

Fig. 3 is an elevation taken at right angles to Fig. 1 with parts brokenaway and partly in section on the line 3--3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4. is a plan view of a modied form of heat treating apparatus;

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the apparatus shown in Fig. 4, and

Fig. 6 is an elevation on a larger scale than Fig. 5 and illustrates theconstruction of parts omitted in Fig. 5 to simplify that figure.

.In Figs. 1-3 of the drawings we have illustrated, by way of example,apparatus for hardening and tempering the ends of machinists hammers oranalogous work pieces. The apparatus shown in Figs. .1 and 2 comprise asupporting framework A on a base portion of which is mounted a metalcasing or housing structure comprising aV rectangular lower box-likestructure B and three upper arch or hood portions B', Bz and B3 risingfrom the upper side of the box-like body portion of the housing. Thehousing portions B' and B3 are located above opposite end portions ofthe housing body B, and the portion B2 is located midway between theportions B' and B3. The framework A of the apparatus comprises uprisingpillar portions A', in which is journalled a horizontal shaft C with oneend beneath the hood portion B and its other end beneath the hoodportion B3.

Rigidly secured to the shaft C are two work supporting dial orwheel-like member D and DA, the dial D being approximately midwaybetween the hoods B' and B2, and the dial DA being approximately midwaybetween the hoods B2 and B3. As shown, dial member D supports workpieces d, in the form of hammer heads with peens, during the voperationof simultaneously hardening the two ends of said hea-ds, and the dial DAsupports the same hammer heads while the latter are being tempered. Thetwo dials may thus be identical in form and in construction, eachcomprising a series of work supporting units D' distributed about theperiphery of, and secured as by bolts D2 to a wheel center D3.

. Each unit D' is formed with a seat D4 for the intermediate portion ofa hammer head, said seat comprising a slot extending through the part D'and centering pin D5 adapted to Vextend through the handle opening inthe hammer head. The Work supporting units D may advantageously becastings of heat resistant metal such as chrome steel, and the Wheelcenter D? may advantageously be mace of bronzetpr avoid corrosion as aresult of its continuous contact with quenching liquid. Y

To anchor the hammerlieads in place in the dial while the latter makes asubstantially complete revolution, suitable retaining n ieans areneeded. As shown, a separatevretaining device D6 is associated with eachof'Y the Ydials D and DA. Such device D6 is a metallic bar or strip bentinto an arc tting'closely against the portion of the periphery rthecorresponding dial #below-'the' level offthe' axis of theshaft C andhaving short ver-ticalend portions D7 extending uprfromfsaid level. Y

VTheoshait 'Gand thereby the dials D and DA, are given intermittentangular. movements. in the direction of thes'arrow shown inFig. 3, by apawl and ratchet mechanism comprising a ratchet wheelE secured 130, oneend of the shaft Cand provided w'itha suitable multiplicity ot teeth orshoulder portions The number vof teelthljA isfequlalf'tothe number ofworkholding seat'partsat the peripheryV of' eacljiv d ial; In theparticular arrangement shown,A by way ot exampie, in Figs, 1%3, each ofmediale 1 3 and DA has twelve peripheral work/seats, andthe ratchetwheel E l is formed with twelve Ateeth or shoulders E andis given acomplete revolution in twelve successive angularrsteps; eacho 30. TheWheel Eis given its (successive angular adjustments by, means o f apawlF pivotedvto one end of a ifatchetlever F which ishmounted foroscillation e about the axis fofthe shaft Cf. The lever F hasY itssecond'end-conneetedrjby a link` F2 toa plunger Ftvorkine in.eJhi/dreiilio @vlinder E?. The lat-y fehe'e; ief'lever end. piroiellrConnected. to the. bese ofthe' framework. A ihrofughy a fulerum ein F:Q11'y other, uid. under pressure. iseoe. Knitted' 15o eridjoeohereed.from. the. Cylinder 16.2v ih loiieeinlei. one outlet ports Fi and F.respeciivelvlov asoiiobloeleoirie valve mechanism 0.11-, @reime'intermittently' et. predetermined.. inter.- Yole. Heder. the .Controlof eleetro timingsys.- teip.. Sinoe theepeoe Construction of. thevelve.mechanism and; timing. system. form ne.. part ofthe.oieeenoinveptioneno.may be orwell. known oommereol types.' they need.not bei .illustrated or.'oesoriloedherein- Y Aeehown.. therotehet leverE comprises twoL similar*plate-flileparts Fat opposite sidesoixthehWheel. E endeooh Surroil.IodineA e. Corresponding hub-like portion E2 oftheratchetwheelEwhichi keyedio the Sheila' C- As isY indicated inFie-,theangular traveliof the pawl;v Fbetween. its. normal p,os`i tion,'shownin full lines in Fig. 3, and its dotted line position shown in Fig., 3,at

whichit completes an angular advancing. moVe,-..

ment, of the ratchet wheel. E, considerablygreater than the annulardistancev between two.

sucessiveteeth E oi the wheel E. In-.co`nse.. quence,r ahsubstantialinitial portion of each.

moi(einentV of the p awlrF' away fromits.position-vr shovvn in fulllinesin Fig.. 3, isan idle movement,l

insofarV as its Veffet on the :angular positionvof.

toeraiehetwheeLE. is.eoioeeinedt i However.. dure! 4 ing such initialportion of the movement of the pawl F', the ratchet lever operates toeect a gas burner position adjustment, as is hereinafter described.

To insure that the shaft C will be maintained 'stationary in therespective positions into which it. is adjusted by the successivecounterclockwise movements ofthe ratchet lever F as Seen in Fig. 3, theshaft C is provided with a suitable locking device. The latter, as shownin Fig. 1, comprises a nonrrotatable. braking element G which is formedwith an aperture through which passes the end portion of, the shaft Cremote from the ratchet. wheel E. A spring G2 holds the inner side o ftheA element G in frictional contact with a brake. dise G. secured tothe shaft C. The spring G2 acts between the member G and a cellar Csecured to the end of the shaft C. The member G and disc G may be facedwith brake lining material G3.

Asshown in therdrawings, each work piece d is put in place in, andremovedrirom its-'sea-tD5 in the dial D while said seatis moving;kthrough a-loading and unloading station intermedi-ate the ends of' the,quadrant of its path of movement extending from the' level of the axisofthe shaft C' to the highest levelattained-by the seat'. During itsmovement through the succeeding quadrant of its path of movement, theworkpiece is subjected, during three successi-veintervals,` to theheating eiect ofv three heat-ing elements H and H2 at the side ofthe,disc VDV adjacent the hood B and spacedy 30 apart about the axis oftheshaft Ci Whilethe burner heatingvelelV ment-s H and H2 are thus actingsuccessively on one end Qi the workpiece d; three heating eleacombustible mixture of some commercially available fuelgas and fair,ordinarily in approximately the ratio required* forj4 completecombustion. "Associated, with the dial DA are burners h, h ood." h2, etone Side.` andrburners. ho, ha" and.. ha2 at the oppositeside o thedial: As .sh own the burners. h and fia. areaxial alieornentv with.ihobulners.. and. HAihe. `lournersh.' andra. groin axial. alignmentwith, theburners. H1' and.v HAL and theburnersjh and- 1142w are located;in. axial alignment with the .burners H2 and HA2..

As. shownthe burners HT and H2 are suie--A portedabva member Comprisinga plate-like portion normally in regiterrwithf an opening in the.adjacent, side wall of thel hood- Bf. Simi.-v larlytheburners. HA' andHA2are supportedby. a support. HA? inregister; with er1-opening in theadiaeelot.Y Side wallv ofl'the.: hood. BJ2t The. leurnershl he. and-WereSoeportedbr a Support-Yl ing.: membeohand theburnersl hai and; ha.2arefsupporiedbyeamembe #aandthemembers h2 and ha3 Vare regisfl;With-openings in the adjacent sides of the hoods B3 and B2,.r.espectively. .Y 1

The burner SupportsrI-A; h3; ha'may; al1*` be Stationary.; but asshowzm;the burnerr support H3- is mounted in; the; framework A yfor -movement'Vbetween normal. and; retracted positions. shown.

fzizlll and'. dotted; lines..1reselectively;v in; Fig 1: '1J-.he-Sueioert H2 is... per-t; oi a strueturaieiement formed with an openingthrough which theashat C looeelir extends. and.; pivotedf; te. about; apintle H ifmounted: in the supporting framework; A. aty theepooSiteSide; oifthegfehoit; fromf the burners Hs. Hf; andA H2. In; thenormalipesition;

of the support H2, the burners H, H and H2 are so close to the dial Dthat the adjacent 'ends of the work pieces d in alignment with therespective burners, are within the combustion spaces of the latter. Whenthe support H3 is in its dotted line position, the burners H, H and H2are displaced far enough from the dial D to provide clearance betweenthe ends of the burners and the adjacent work pieces as the dial isangularly advanced or indexed, during the final portion of the Workingstroke of the ratchet lever F. The burners H, H and H2 are the onlyburners associated with the dials D and DA into which portions of thealigned work pieces extend at any time. With portions of the work piecesnormally within the combustion chambers of the burners H, H and H2,those portions may be supplied with heat at a more rapid rate than thework piece portions heated by the other burners. This is practicallydesirable when the Work pieces are so shaped, as are the hammer headpieces d shown in Fig. 1, as to require substantially more heat duringthe hardening operation than is required in any other heating action towhich the work pieces are subjected,

The support H3 is moved away from the dial D preparatory to each dialindexing, or angular advancement. To this end, in the constructionshown, the support I-I3 is formed with a flange H5 in the form of asection of a hollow cylinder substantially coaxial with the shaft C. Acam slot H6 is formed in the flange H5 and has an upper portion inclinedto a plane transverse to the shaft C, and a lower portion substantiallyparallel to said plane. An arm F1n secured to the lever F carries aroller F11 which has its axis substantially radial to the shaft C andextending through and fitting in the slot H6, The roller F11 movesthrough the inclined upper portion of the slot and thereby turns thesupport H3 about the pivot pin H4 into its retracted position as thelever F turns counter clockwise as seen in Fig. 3 through the initialportion of its movement in which4 the pawl F' moves into the position inwhich it engages the adjacent tooth E. In consequence, the burners H, Hand H2 are moved to the left of the work pieces mounted in the dial D,before the continuing counter clockwise movement of the lever F operatesthrough the pawl F and tooth E' to give the dial an indexing movement.During said continuing movement and during an initial return movement ofthe lever F, the roller F11 moves along the lower straight portion ofthe cam slot without giving movement to the support H3. During the finalportion of the return stroke of the lever F, the roller F11 moves intothe upper inclined portion of the slot and thereby returns the burnersupport H3 to its normal position.

The various burners H, H-h, h2 are supplied with combustible mixturethrough individual and individually regulable branches I of a pipingsystem which includes a main sup-ply pipe I5. The piping systemordinarily includes the usual accessories such as fire checks, as wellas throttling valves which permit of separate regulation of the rates atwhich combustible mixture is supplied to each group of valves located atthe same side of the same dial. Inasmuch as said piping system embodiesnothing claimed as novel herein, further descriptive references theretois believed to be unnecessary. The various burners may be ofcommercially available types. Preferably each burner includes acombustion chamber with an outlet at yits end adjacent the Work andformed with a plurality of small channels opening into the combustionchamber at its rear end. To secure the rapid heating action desirablysupplied by the burners associated with the dial D, each of thoseburners may advantageously be of the type disclosed in Hess Patent2,367,119 of January 9, 1945, in which the outlet from the combustionchamber is restricted soy that an excessive atmospheric pressure may bemaintained in the combustion chamber. The burners H, H' and H2 may havethe outer ends of their restricted outlet passages enlarged to receivework end portions. The burners associated with the dial DA may well beof the type disclosed in the Hess Patent 2,103,365 of December 28, 1937,granted on the application of one of the applicants herein.

The lower portion of the dial D extends into a quenching liquid bathheld in a tank J so that as each Work piece moves downward away from thealigned burners H2 and HA2 it dips into a quenching bath and may well beimmersed therein during the time required for a third or a quarter of arevolution of the dial D. After moving through the quenching bath, eachwork piece passes upward into the previously mentioned loading andunloading station.

After the work piece has passed from the quenching bath into saidloading and unloading station, the work piece thus removed from the dialD is promptly placed in a Work seat of the dial DA, after the removalfrom that work seat of a work piece which has just completed arevolution about the shaft C while mounted in the tempering dial DA.During the period following the removal of the last mentioned work piecefrom its seat in the dial D, and prior to the movement of the seat intoheating relation with the burners H and HA, a fresh Work piece ismounted in said seat. Each work piece inserted in a seat D4 in the dialD is progressively heated at a rapid rate from its initial temperaturewhich may be that of the atmosphere, to a temperature suitably relatedto the appropriate critical temperature for the work piece material andhardening operation required, while being acted upon successively by theburners H and HA, H and HA', H2 and HA2. Thereafter, the work piece iscooled at a suitably rapid rate while immersed in the quenching bath inthe tank J.

The rate at which a work piece in either of the dials is heated up maybe regulated by varying the rate at which the combustible mixture issupplied to the different burners, and in some cases by varying thecomposition of said mixture. The rate at which the Work pieces areheated up may also be regulated by varying the frequency with which theratchet lever Fis oscillated to produce corresponding angular advancesof the wheel E and thereby of the dials D and DA. The rate at which theWork piece is cooled` in the tank J may be varied, when necessary, by-

varying the condition or character of the quenching liquid bath in thetank J, and in particular by regulating the agitation of the bath liquidin immediate proximity with the work. Such regulation may be eifected bydischarging recirculated and make up bath liquid into the bath in jetsdirected against each work piece while in its initial stationaryposition in bath.

As previously indicated, the frequency of the actuation of the hydrauliccylinder F2 may be varied by the adjustment of the automatic electrictiming system which may be of commercial stations, mechanism to rotateintermittently said shaft and members to move the articles carriedthereby past the heating stations in equal increments o1" advanceinterposed by equal intervals cf time during which the articles arestationary, quenching means mounted to quench the articles carried byone of said members at a station subsequent to said heating stations,some of said heating means being operable t0 surround a portion of saidarticles, and means operated by said rotating means and in synchronismtherewith to move said some of said heating means out of and intoheating position as said members are being rotated.

FREDERIC O. HESS.

FRED MAUD.

WILLIAM B. TROUPE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

Number Number 10 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Haskins Dec. 20, 1904Josephs Jr., et al. Aug. 15, 1922 McFarland Feb. 3, 1925 Foisy Nov. 2,1926 Wasson et al. May 13, 1941 Mason June 30, 1942 Purnell June 29,1943 Le Tourneau May 1, 1945 Hansen June 11, 1946 Denneen et al Jan. 14,1947 Shorter Oct. 28, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great BritainMar. 10, 1939

